Rswitch actuating mechanism responsive to opening and closing of a doo

ABSTRACT

A switch actuating device responsive to the opening and closing of the door of a motor vehicle or the like. The device comprises a striker of a door lock mechanism, a contact disposed in a striker receiving gap of the door lock mechanism and slidable in a full latch stroke section of the striker, the contact being normally urged to move toward an opening of the gap by the biasing force of a spring, and an actuator of a limit switch disposed in the path of rearward movement of the contact.

Waited States Patent 1 @gawa 1 Se t. 4, 1973 SWITCH ACTUATING MECHANISMRESPONSIVE TO OPENING AND CLOSING OF A DOOR [75] Inventor: Hisashi()gawa, Kuwana, Japan [73] Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kogyo KabushikiKaisha, Toyota City, Aichi-ken, Japan [22] Filed: Mar. 22, 1972 [21]Appl. No.: 236,923

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Oct. 26, 1971 Japan 46/99345 [52]US. Cl. 200/6l.64, 200/153 LA, 340/274, 292/201, 297/385 [51] int. Cl.H01h 27/00 [58] Field of Search 292/144, 201; 340/274; 297/385; 24/230;200/47, 61.88 B,

3,569,646 3/1971 Smith ZOO/61.68 3,222,473 12/1965 Delhase 2,638,5165/1953 Forman 200/6l.68

Primary Examiner-J. V. Truhe Assistant Examiner-Gerald P. TolinAttorney-Stevens, D. C. Miller et al.

[5 7] ABSTRACT A switch actuating device responsive to the opening andclosing of the door of a motor vehicle or the like.

The device comprises a striker of a door lock mechanism, a contactdisposed in a striker receiving gap of the door lock mechanism andslidable in a full latch stroke section of the striker, the contactbeing normally urged to move toward an opening of the gap by the biasingforce of a spring, and an actuator of a limit switch disposed in thepath of rearward movement of the contact.

3 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PATENTEU SEP 4 I975 SHEET 1 BF 4 FIG.

PATENTED SE? 4 I975 snmanra FIG. 3

PATENTEDSEP 4am 3,757, 064

sum 3 or 4 SWITCH ACTUA'IING MECHANISM RESPONSIVE TO OPENING AND CLOSINGOF A DOOR This invention relates to a switch actuating mechanism whichis responsive to the opening and closing of a door of a motor vehicle orthe like.

Switch actuating mechanisms of various types have been proposed whichare responsive to the opening and closing of a door of a motor vehicle.Switch actuating mechanisms of the prior art have, however, thedisadvantage of responding to the opening and closing of the door evenif the door is half-open or the door lock is half-latched, as if thedoor were fully closed. This makes it necessary to provide an additionaldetection means to detect when the door is half-open, resulting inincreased complexity of the mechanism and increased cost.

The present invention obviates the aforementioned disadvantage of theprior art. Accordingly, an object of this invention is to provide aswitch actuating mechanism responsive to the opening and closing of thedoor, simple in construction, which does not respond to the opening andclosing of the door when the door is halfo'pen, and which permits thedriver to discover when the door is half-open.

Another object of this invention is to provide a switch actuatingmechanism that responds to the opening and closing of the door, which iscompact in size and capable of being readily incorporated in a doorlocking mechanism, in which the position of the striker in the lockmeans determines whether or not a limit switch is actuated. The limitswitch is not actuated when the door is half-open, so that the drivercan find out that the door is half-open.

Other objects are those inherent in the invention shown, described andclaimed herein and will become evident as the description proceeds.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the switch actuating device comprisingone embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view, on an enlarged scale, of essentialportions of the switch actuating device of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a side view of another embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view, on an enlarged scale, of essentialportions of the embodiment of FIG. 5, with certain parts being cut outand the device being shown in a half latched position;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view, on an enlarged scale, of essentialportions of the embodiment of FIG. 5, with certain parts being cut outand the device being shown in a fully latched position; and

FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view of a driver's seat of a motorvehicle provided with a seat belt guide device utilizing the switchactuating mechanism according to this invention.

FIG. 1 to FIG. 4 show a first embodiment of this invention in which astriker 11 is secured to a mounting frame of a vehicle body, and lockmeans is provided in a door.

Lock means 10 is formed with a striker receiving gap 13. When insertedin striker receiving gap 13, striker I 1 is locked by a locking device(not shown) after it has moved in gap 13 a distance corresponding to afull latch stroke section L.

Disposed in full latch stroke section L in striker receiving gap 13 is acontact 15, slidably supported by a base plate 14 of lock means 10,which is nonnally urged by the biasing force of a spring 17 to movetoward an opening 16 of gap 13 so that a front end 18 of contact 15 maybe disposed within full latch stroke section L.

Accordingly, when striker 11 is inserted in gap 13 and reaches fulllatch stroke section L after the door is closed, the front end 18 ofcontact 15 is pressed by a leg 12 of striker 11, so that contact 15 ismoved rearwardly against the biasing force of spring 17.

Disposed in the path of rearward movement of contact 15 is an actuator20 of a limit switch 19 which is pressed by the rearwardly movingcontact 15, thereby turning limit switch 19 on or otf as the case maybe.

In the embodiment shown and described above, a cam 22 having abevelledsurface is formed on a back of an arm 21 contiguous with andprojecting from a rear end of contact 15 as shown in FIG. 4. Whenbevelled surface of cam 22 is brought into contact with a side edge 23of actuator 20 and contact 15 moves rearwardly in the direction of anarrow 51, cam 22 causes actuator 20 to move in the direction of an arrow52, thereby turning limit switch 19 on or off as the case may be.

In FIG. 3, one leg 12 of striker 11 is shown as being in a half latchedposition, and hence leg 12 in this position indicates that the door ishalf-open. 12a shows the position which leg 12 occupies when it is in afull latch position and hence the door is fully closed.

FIG. 5 to FIG. 7 show a second embodiment of this invention in which aleg 32 of an annular striker 31 is inserted in a gap 33 formed betweenopposing surfaces of rotary latches 24 and 25 which are rotated by theleg received in the gap, so that leg 32 received in a recess 26 ofrotary latch 24 as teeth 34 and 35 are brought into engagement with eachother is locked. In this locking device, a slide block 38 slidablysupported by a door lock proper 30 and disposed in an inner part of gap33 functions as a contact. Slide block 38 is pressed and movedrearwardly by leg 32 of annular striker 31 when leg 32 is introducedinto the full latch stroke section shown in FIG. 7 from its half-latchedposition shown in FIG. 6. An actuator 40 of a limit switch 39 isdisposed in the path of rearward movement of slide block 38. Whenstriker 31 moves forwardly, rotary latches 24 and 25 are returned totheir positions shown in FIG. 5 by the biasing force of a coil spring37. 32a in FIG. 7 shows the position which leg 32 of striker 31 occupieswhen it is latched.

In the embodiments as shown and described above, the actuator 20 or 40of limit switch 19 or 39 remains inoperative when striker 11 or 31 is ina half-latched position in the locking device. It is only after striker11 or 31 has entered the full latch stroke section that actuator 20 or40 is rendered operative.

FIG. 8 shows an application of the switch actuating device according tothis invention in a seat belt guide device so as to guide a lap belt 41and a shoulder belt 42 between occupant restraining positions and beltrelease positions. When a door 43 is opened as shown, limit switches areactuated and a motor 50 built in the door is operated, so that annularmembers 44 and 45 fitted over lap belt 41 and shoulder belt 42respectively are moved to belt release positions along guides 46 and 47.When the door is closed, limit switches are actuated to move annularmembers 44 and 45 to anchors 48 and 49 of the lap belt and shoulder beltrespectively, so as to bring the belts to occupant restrainingpositions.

In this example, the switch actuating device according to this inventionresponds to the opening of the door from a fully closed position to ahalf-open position in which the door is slightly open or the striker isin a half-latched position, so that the belts are brought to respectivebelt release positions. Consequently the occupant is released fromrestraint in his seat as soon as the door is opened. Conversely, whenthe occupant closes the door, the switch actuating device according tothis invention does not respond to the closing of the door when it isnot fully closed and the striker is in the half-latched position.Consequently, the limit switches are not actuated and belts are notmoved to occupant restraining positions, thereby indicating that vehicleis not ready for running. It is only after the door is fully closed thatbelts are brought to the occupant restraining positions.

61 and 62 are limit switches for opening an operation circuit for motor50 at opposite ends of a stroke of annular member 44.

The example shown and described above is but one of the many cases ofthe use of the switch actuating device according to this invention. Itwill be readily understood that the device can be utilized, for example,in turning on and off room lights in the vehicle in response to theopening and closing of the door and at the same time in finding out thatdoor is not in a half-open position.

What is claimed is:

1 A switch actuating device responsive to the opening and closing of thedoor of a motor vehicle, comprismg:

a. a door lock mechanism including a striker and a gap into which saidstriker is received, said striker being received within a section ofsaid gap a full latch stroke;

b. a slidable contact, connected to said door lock mechanism andpartially extending within said striker receiving gap, said contacthaving a front end that is slidable within said section of said gap afull latch stroke and a rear end spaced outside said gap, said rear endincluding an arm extending therefrom, said arm having a cam including abevelled surface;

said gap through which said striker is received to a position withinsaid section of said gap, said striker being of U-shape form wherein theleg first entering said section removably engages said front end of saidcontact; and

d. a limit switch including an actuator extending within the path ofsaid contact, said cam removably engaging said actuator wherein forwardmovement of said striker within said section of gap forces said contactrearwardly to position said bevelled surface over said actuator forpressing and moving a spring biasing said contact towards an opening ofsaid actuator downwardly.

2. A switch actuating device responsive to the opening and closing ofthe door of a motor vehicle, comprisi. a door lock mechanism including astriker, and two rotary latches disposed in a face-to-face relationshipand forming between them a gap into which said striker is received, saidstriker being received within a section of said gap a full latch stroke;

b. a slidable contact block supported by said lock mechanism andslidable within said striker receiving gap, said contact block having afront end that is slidable within said section of said gap a full latchstroke and a rear end;

a spring biasing said block towards an opening of said gap through whichsaid striker is received to a position within said section of gap, saidstriker being of U-shape form wherein the leg first entering saidsection removably engages said front end of said block; and

d. a limit switch including an actuator extending within the path ofsaid block, said rear end of said block removably engaging said actuatorwherein forward movement of said striker within said section of said gapforces said block rearwardly to engage said actuator.

3. Apparatus responsive to the opening and closing of the door of amotor vehicle, comprising:

a. a door lock mechanism including a striker and a gap into which saidstriker is received, said striker being received within a section ofsaid gap a full latch stroke when the door is closed;

b. a contact, connected to said door lock mechanism and partiallyextending within said striker receiving gap, said contact having a frontend that is slidable within said section of said gap a full latch strokeand a rear end having an arm extending therefrom;

c. a spring biasing said contact towards an opening of said gap throughwhich said striker is received to a position within said section of gap,said striker being of U-shape form wherein the leg first entering saidsection removably engages said front end of said contact;

d. a limit switch including an actuator extending within the path ofsaid contact, said arm removably engaging said actuator; and

. means coupled to said limit switch for transferring seat and shoulderbelts between occupant restraining and belt releasing positionscomprising a lap belt, a shoulder belt, annular members slidably fittedover said lap belt and said shoulder belt respectively and movable alongrespective guides from a belt restraining position to a belt releaseposition, an annular member drive means connected to the door of thevehicle and responsive to the actuation of said limit switch for movingsaid annular members to the release position when the door is open andfor moving said annular members to the occupant restraining positionwhen the door is closed.

# i i t t

1. A switch actuating device responsive to the opening and closing ofthe door of a motor vehicle, comprising: a. a door lock mechanismincluding a striker and a gap into which said striker is received, saidstriker being received within a section of said gap a full latch stroke;b. a slidable contact, connected to said door lock mechanism andpartially extending within said striker receiving gap, said contacthaving a front end that is slidable within said section of said gap afull latch stroke and a rear end spaced outside said gap, said rear endincluding an arm extending therefrom, said arm having a cam including abevelled surface; c. a spring biasing said contact towards an opening ofsaid gap through which said striker is received to a position withinsaid section of said gap, said striker being of U-shape form wherein theleg first entering said section removably engages said front end of saidcontact; and d. a limit switch including an actuator extending withinthe path of said contact, said cam removably engaging said actuatorwherein forward movement of said striker within said section of gapforces said contact rearwardly to position said bevelled surface oversaid actuator for pressing and moving said actuator downwardly.
 2. Aswitch actuating device responsive to the opening and closing of thedoor of a motor vehicle, comprising: a. a door lock mechanism includinga striker, and two rotary latches disposed in a face-to-facerelationship and forming between them a gap into which said striker isreceived, said striker being received within a section of said gap afull latch stroke; b. a slidable contact block supported by said lockmechanism and slidable within said striker receiving gap, said contactblock having a front end that is slidable within said section of saidgap a full latch stroke and a rear end; c. a spring biasing said blocktowards an opening of said gap through which said striker is received toa position within said section of gap, said striker being of U-shapeform wherein the leg first entering said section removably engages saidfront end of said block; and d. a limit switch including an actuatorextending within the path of said block, said rear end of said blockremovably engaging said actuator wherein forward movement of saidstriker within said section of said gap forces said block rearwardly toengage said actuator.
 3. Apparatus responsive to the opening and closingof the door of a motor vehicle, comprising: a. a door lock mechanismincluding a striker and a gaP into which said striker is received, saidstriker being received within a section of said gap a full latch strokewhen the door is closed; b. a contact, connected to said door lockmechanism and partially extending within said striker receiving gap,said contact having a front end that is slidable within said section ofsaid gap a full latch stroke and a rear end having an arm extendingtherefrom; c. a spring biasing said contact towards an opening of saidgap through which said striker is received to a position within saidsection of gap, said striker being of U-shape form wherein the leg firstentering said section removably engages said front end of said contact;d. a limit switch including an actuator extending within the path ofsaid contact, said arm removably engaging said actuator; and e. meanscoupled to said limit switch for transferring seat and shoulder beltsbetween occupant restraining and belt releasing positions comprising alap belt, a shoulder belt, annular members slidably fitted over said lapbelt and said shoulder belt respectively and movable along respectiveguides from a belt restraining position to a belt release position, anannular member drive means connected to the door of the vehicle andresponsive to the actuation of said limit switch for moving said annularmembers to the release position when the door is open and for movingsaid annular members to the occupant restraining position when the dooris closed.